New Shows on Hulu

New TV series on Hulu include Hulu originals and the latest from most of the big broadcast networks.

Co-owned by Disney and Comcast’s NBCUniversal, and partnered in one way or another with all four major broadcast networks, Hulu seems like a modern-day miracle of collaboration between competitors. This gives subscribers a central hub for a variety of new shows on Hulu, from Hulu originals to FX on Hulu to the latest network offerings. We’ll update this list with all the new series available on Hulu.

Here are 10 new shows on Hulu:

1. Under the Banner of Heaven

Hulu Release Date: March 29, 2022
Creators: Liz Hannah, Patrick Macmanus
Stars: Elle Fanning, Colton Ryan, Chloë Sevigny, Norbert Leo Butz, Cara Buono
Genre: Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Paste Review Score: 8.1

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Based on the popular true crime novel of the same name, Under the Banner of Heaven will likely introduce a whole new generation to the horror of the Lafferty murders—in which a young mother and her baby were brutally murdered by her Mormon fundamentalist brothers-in-law—and spark renewed interest in the darker corners of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and its history. But while the show is unflinching in its honesty about the dangers of religious fanaticism and the horrors of violence done in (any) God’s name, it’s also a thoughtful look at what it means to believe in something enough to trust that it can not only withstand scrutiny, but that such questioning ultimately makes one’s faith stronger in the end. Andrew Garfield shines as everyman detective Jeb Pyre, who must balance his devout belief in the church he’s dedicated his life to with the horror slowly unfolding in front of him as their case continues to pull back the curtain on some of that church’s darkest secrets. —Lacy Baugher Milas

2. The Girl from Plainville

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Where is the line between entertainment and exploitation? Do television producers have any moral obligation to the real-life people whose lives serve as fodder for their series? These are questions I found myself grappling with while I watched the new Hulu limited series The Girl from Plainville based on a recent real-life tragedy—the story of Mattapoisett, Massachusetts native Conrad “Coco” Roy (Colton Ryan), a recent high school graduate, who on July 13, 2014 committed suicide. Soon after his death, it was discovered that his girlfriend Michelle Carter (Elle Fanning, who also serves as an executive producer on the series)—who lived in nearby Plainville, Massachusetts—had encouraged him to kill himself, and at one point even told him to get back into his car which was filled with carbon monoxide. Roy’s death is a gut-wrenching tragedy. He died less than eight years ago, and I would assume that the loss of a beloved brother, son, and grandson still is felt deeply and daily by his family. The profoundly disturbing nature of Carter’s texts combined with the groundbreaking legal ramifications of bringing Carter to trial made the case the perfect tabloid fodder. News crews descended onto the courtroom. There has already been a 2018 Lifetime movie and an HBO two-part documentary series. Roy’s tragic death has been explored (exploited?) over and over again. So the question really becomes what can Plainville offer viewers? Most TV series don’t need to justify their existence. This one does and, for the most part, rises to the challenge. The series, which is based on an Esquire article of the same name written by Jesse Barron, is never sensationalistic. It seeks to explain but never justify the circumstances that lead to Roy’s death. Ultimately, the truly outstanding performances make this series. Both Fanning and Ryan portray their characters with a palpable empathy that transcends the ripped-from-the-headlines source material. They take their characters beyond the sensationalistic soundbites. Fanning makes Michelle a fully realized character and gives her depth beyond the image we all know of a sullen girl with blond hair and unnaturally dark eyebrows. Before the truth came out, just being the girlfriend of a boy who killed himself thrust Michelle into fame, making her the sympathetic heroine and giving her the attention she so desperately craved. Ryan, for his part, gives Conrad such profound sadness. He’s a boy who loves his family and has goals and dreams, but the day to day battle with his inner demons became insurmountable. And the truth, which Plainville acknowledges, is that there is no context where anything that happened in this devastating story is okay. But it is a provocative series that provides perspective and will make you think about how willing the news media is to exploit a tragedy, how difficult it can be to be a teenager, and how hard society is on young women. —Amy Amatangelo

3. Life & Beth

Hulu Release Date: March 18, 2022
Creator: Amy Schumer
Stars: Amy Schumer, Violet Young, Michael Cera, Susannah Flood
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Paste Review Score: 7.5

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There is so much going on in Amy Schumer’s new dramedy series Life & Beth on an emotional level. The show explores how the hardest parts of Beth’s (Schumer) adolescence are tied to her parents, in particular her mother, with honesty and sensitivity. Visiting one’s childhood home means something different for everyone, but for Beth, it means realizing that her hurt, teenage self is still very much a part of her. The show’s stacked cast deserves a shout-out as well. Michael Cera is so endearing as Beth’s love interest John, and he and Schumer have a strange but undeniable chemistry together. Susannah Flood plays Beth’s emotionally cagey and hilarious sister, Ann, in one of the most layered performances of the series. Michael Rappaport and Laura Benanti knock it out of the park as Beth’s flawed but loving parents. As for Schumer, she’s going out of her comfort zone here, and she does it well. —Clare Martin

4. The Thing About Pam

Hulu Release Date: March 8, 2022
Creator: Jenny Klein
Stars: Renée Zellweger, Josh Duhamel, Judy Greer, Gideon Adlon, Sean Bridgers
Genre: Crime drama
Rating: TV-MA

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Renée Zellweger makes her network TV debut as Pam Hupp, a woman who was arrested for the murder of Betsy Faria in 2011. Police detectives and the Lincoln County, Missouri, prosecutor Leah Askey (Judy Greer) become pided on whether Hupp or Faria’s husband Russ (Gleen Fleshler) had the motive to kill. The six-episode miniseries has received mixed reviews from critics.

5. The Dropout

Hulu Release Date: March 3, 2022
Creator: Elizabeth Meriwether
Stars: Amanda Seyfried, Naveen Andrews
Genre: Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Paste Review Score: 9.0

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The Dropout is the latest installment in the girlboss scammer true crime sub-genre. The limited series is based on the ABC News podcast of the same name that investigated the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, following Holmes from her acceptance to Stanford University to her corporate downfall. Holmes (Amanda Seyfried) is very quickly defined as someone who wants to be one of the greats. Her ambition is intertwined with her awkwardness, something that she is so self aware of that she is constantly trying to create an outward personality to get her what she wants. Further, her attempts at self-reinvention go from endearing to unsettling, which is not only a testament to Seyfried’s talent but to the directing and editing teams behind the camera. The gradual deepening of Elizabeth’s voice and her over-practiced corporate reassurances paint an fascinating portrait of a woman perpetually on the edge. In the end, The Dropout does an excellent job of depicting a train that deserved to get derailed. Holmes is painted as a textbook example of why simply having an idea is not a good justification for dropping out of a prestigious institution of higher education, and Hulu’s portrayal of her girlbossing too close to the sun is captivating through and through. In the age of the scammer show, The Dropout is certainly worth being played. —Kathryn Porter

6. Pam & Tommy

Hulu Release Date: Feb. 2, 2022
Creator: Robert Siegel
Stars: Lily James, Sebastian Stan, Nick Offerman, Seth Rogen, Taylor Schilling
Genre: Drama
Rating: TV-MA

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Much like its subject matter, Hulu’s Pam & Tommy is a series that, on the surface, feels like it’s going to be a joke. Happily, it’s not—the series not only contains surprising emotional depth but feels like an important piece of the much-needed reckoning our pop culture is currently undergoing when it comes to the misogynistic way we treated female celebrities in the 1990s. Featuring a pair of uncannily accurate physical transformations and layered performances from stars Lily James and Sebastian Stan, Pam & Tommy is a series that manages to harness the utter ridiculousness of its premise for good. —Lacy Milas Baugher

7. Single Drunk Female

Hulu Release Date: Jan. 20, 2022
Creator: Simone Finch
Stars: Sofia Black-D’Elia, Rebecca Henderson, Sasha Compère, Lily Mae Harrington, Garrick Bernard, Ally Sheedy
Genre: Comedy
Rating: TV-MA

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In Simone Finch’s comedy series Single Drunk Female, Samantha (Sofia Black-D’Elia) is forced to move back to Boston and live with her mom Carol (Ally Sheedy) after her public intoxication at work leads to a criminal conviction. Once home, she must confront the fact she is an alcoholic, albeit one who has functioned for years. She needs a job and a sponsor. And, she needs to own up to the mistakes she’s made. The result is a series that blends humor with a raw and honest look at addiction. Sheedy is fantastic as a mom who loves her daughter but makes a lot of mistakes in her efforts to support her, while Black-D’Elia shines as a woman who continues to make frustrating choices even though she wants to do better. —Amy Amatangelo

8. How I Met Your Father

Hulu Release Date: Jan. 18, 2022
Creators: Isaac Aptaker, Elizabeth Berger
Stars: Hilary Duff, Christopher Lowell, Francia Raisa, Suraj Sharma, Tom Ainsley, Tien Tran, Kim Cattrall
Genre: Comedy
Rating: TV-14

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The five main characters on How I Met Your Mother were all white and all straight. Unless you count Alyson Hannigan’s red hair, there was absolutely no persity in the series. So Hulu’s sequel, How I Met Your Father, feels a bit like a course correction. The cast is perse both in ethnicity and sexual orientation. Hillary Duff stars as Sophie, a photographer who still believes in love despite all evidence to the contrary. She’s been, as she’s fond of repeating, on 87 Tinder dates and “all of them were duds.” She lives with her roommate Valentina (Francia Raisa) who has just returned from London with a new live-in boyfriend Charlie (Tom Ainsley). On her way to meet her latest Tinder date, Sophie meets Uber driver/music teacher Jesse (Christopher Lowell) and his best friend Sid (Suraj Sharma). She also meets Sid’s sister Ellen (Tien Tran), who is still reeling from her porce from “the only other lesbian” in her hometown of Iowa. Already we are off to a better start reflecting the persity of New York City—even if the New York City on the show looks like a faux set. The central conceit of the series is the same with a gender flip. The comedy, which also has Mother series creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas as executive producers, flashes forward and backward in time to show the origins of a love story. While not the novel idea it was in 2005, it’s still a pretty terrific premise. The road to finding your partner is rarely a clear and straightforward path. Without the framework of the well known series it pays homage to, How I Met Your Father would be just another perfectly pleasant, often funny comedy. There’s nothing wrong with that. But it doesn’t have anything that makes it stand apart in a cluttered TV landscape the way HIMYM did. Unfortunately at this point, it doesn’t appear like the show is destined to be legend—wait for it—dary. —Amy Amatangelo

9. Pivoting

Hulu Release Date: Jan. 10, 2022
Creator: Liz Astrof
Stars: Eliza Coupe, Ginnifer Goodwin, Maggie Q, Tommy Dewey, JT Neal, Marcello Reyes
Genre: Comedy
Rating: TV-14

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No, this isn’t a Ross spinoff from Friends. Instead this new comedy from Fox follows three women—talk-show producer Amy (Eliza Coupe), mother of three Jodie (Ginnifer Goodwin) and surgeon Sarah (Maggie Q)—who seek a major life change after the death of their friend Colleen.

10. Abbott Elementary

Hulu Release Date: Jan. 5, 2022
Creator: Quinta Brunson
Stars: Quinta Brunson, Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, Sheryl Lee Ralph
Genre: Comedy
Rating: TV-PG

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The best new network show of the season is already delighting viewers and dominating 2022. Quinta Brunson writes, executive produces, and stars in this ABC comedy inspired by her mother’s experience as a teacher in the Philadelphia public school system. The show is both hilarious and poignant as it lays bare the inequities in public education both for the children and those who are dedicated in their profession to enriching their lives. Keep an eye out for Tyler James Williams as a substitute and Sheryl Lee Ralph as the veteran teacher who has seen it all. —Amy Amatangelo